Black and White Lies
by Sailorjj07
Summary: With a major assignment from her boss, journalist Estellise Sidos goes undercover to gather information about the infamous Yuri Lowell, a modern-day Robin Hood. In order to get in his good graces, Estelle has to change her identity and maybe even herself. It begins with a false name, but when will it end? Read and Review !
1. Chapter 1

Black and White Lies

By: Sailorjj07

1. Chapter 1

A/n: Please stick with me till the end! I'll probably switch Points of View, though it shouldn't happen too often.

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Actions**

(Me!)

I never realized how easy it would be to lie. I was always the kind of person that was honest; the type that told the truth, no matter how awful it was. It was instilled in me from a young age because, as my Father always said, it's just the right thing to do. But Dad is wrong. Sometimes a lie is the only thing between you and complete failure. Sometimes a lie is the only thing you can say, because the truth is dangerous. Because the truth could leave you open and vulnerable and terribly, terribly alone.

...I never knew how easy it was to lie.

Or how hard it would be to stop.

"Estelle, that was a great piece you wrote about the elementary school! I'm sure a lot of parents will cut it out and stick it on their fridge!"

I shook myself out of my thoughts as a co-worker gave me a small pat on the back. The sounds of the newsroom filled my ears, as I spun in my chair to face the woman who had stopped to talk to me. Nearby reporters spoke loudly, in the middle of phone interviews and I could hear the steady whir of the printer across the room. This was normal at The Daily Arte, Zaphias' newspaper. I gave a small smile to the woman standing in front of me, wondering about her in the back of my mind. How had someone for the advertising department managed to wander to this side of the newsroom in the first place?

"Oh, thank you. It was wonderful to be around the kids."

"Haha, I don't know very many people who can say that! Always the perfect ISD reporter, aren't you?" My coworker teased, waving as she walked away from me. I sighed and sunk into my chair. I never quite understood why people thought that kids were so terrible in the first place. If they were so bad, why on Earth did they bother having them? I truly loved my job, anyways.

A small group of reporters waved at me as my Editor-in-Chief walked up to my desk. Mary Kaufman had beautiful maroon colored hair, perfectly shaped eyebrows and a stride that left men standing with their mouths open. She was also demanding, always professional, and the best reporter I had ever met in my life. She was everything I wish I could be, though I knew I couldn't. We just had two very different ways of doing things.

"Estelle." She stopped in front of my desk with her arms crossed and I immediately stood up, trying to school my features. Kaufman was a very pleasant woman and she certainly wasn't cruel. By why did the look on her face make me pause? Something was up.

"Hello Kaufman. Is there anything I can do for you?" Was that my voice? Was it shaking? Oh God, I hope not.

She wasted no time, sparing the formalities and pleasantries, "How would you like to work on the biggest story of your life?"

"I... What?"

Kaufman only lifted an arched eyebrow, waiting for my response.

"Well, yes! Of course I would! What is it?"

Kaufman's dark eyes looked around us before she turned on her heel and beckoned me to follow her, "Let's talk in my office."

I nodded slowly and followed the woman, ignoring the odd looks from my peers. Hopefull, no rumors surfaced from this little walk.

"Have a seat." I plopped down in the chair I was offered and waited for Kaufman to say more. She leaned against her desk in front of me, arms crossed, as her glasses fell to the bridge of her nose. "Estelle, you are the perfect person for this job. But in order for you to do it, you'll have to... be discreet."

I tilted my head curiously, a bit unsure of her words, "Discreet?"

"Yes," Kaufman hiked herself up on her desk, crossing her legs and pushing her glasses higher up on her face, "We have reason to believe that the infamous Yuri Lowell is recruiting for his... business. I want you to go in there, undercover, and get us a story. I want to write a piece about our city's very own Robin Hood. People should see the world through the eyes of the handsome, bold Yuri Lowell."

My heart jumped in my throat. THE Yuri Lowell? Leader of Mira Vesperia? Surely, she couldn't possibly want me to do something as dangerous as that!

"K-Kaufman, are you... you're serious about this?" I had to talk some sense into my boss. She wanted me to infiltrate a... gang?! This was a group of people who took valuables from the rich, killed for money, and partied until the sun came up. There was no way I could just walk up and ask for quotes!

"As serious as ever. And you are the perfect person for the job." Kaufman leaned forward and focused her clear gaze on me. I stared back, as my heart pounded in my ears, "I won't give this chance to anyone else. It has to be you."

"B-But why? I'm sure there are others that know how to go about this, right? What about our crime reporter?"

Kaufman shook her head, a slight smile curling on her lips, "It has to be you, Estelle. You don't judge people by appearance. You observe them, take them in and THEN you form an opinion. That's so rare. No one on this team comes close to you. Trust me on this. You will grow so much as a writer! This might even get you off of the school district beat."

"But I love writing about the school district!" The exclamation sounded weak even to my ears.

"Estelle, listen to me. I can promise you that this will put your name out there across the country. Imagine the amazing awards you'd receive for shedding light on the life of a criminal! Imagine how many people could actually begin to like him once they realize that Mira Vesperia is still a group of humans. You, yourself, know the power of a human interest piece."

"Of course I do. But Kaufman, this is dangerous. This is an area of life that I've never explored before."

"And that's why I want you to do it. Because you'll be the eyes and ears of the uninitiated world. And it shouldn't be too dangerous. Aren't you friends with that cop? What was his name again...? Sci-something..."

"Detective Scifo? Flynn is not going to help me out if I do this. He'd likely arrest me!"

Kaufman shrugged, "I doubt that very much. He's totally into you."

I felt a rush of red flood my cheeks, but I ignored it for more... life-preserving protests, "Kaufman, I can't."

"You can and you will. Estelle, this is a chance to be a new person. To see parts of yourself that perhaps even you didn't know about. All I'm saying is that this is the chance of a lifetime. I can't do it. No one else on the team can either. It HAS to be you."

I heaved a loud sigh. I hadn't intended to, but there was no way I could keep a straight face about this. I can't possible do something this crazy. I just can't! My eyes scanned Kaufman's office, looking for some sort of escape. They fell on a glass case full of awards and I found myself counting the number of gleaming golden trinkets. Kaufman had won so many awards for her journalism, something I had never accomplished. Kaufman followed my gaze and grinned with a knowing smile, "Estelle, if you write this piece, I promise you that one of these will be yours. You don't even have to mention your own name."

"My parents would be... really proud if I got an award like this."

"And just think of the people that you would be helping! Wouldn't it be wonderful if the members of Mira Vesperia were treated well by society after this piece comes out?"

I nodded wordlessly, working everything over in my mind. I could win an award for this and it'd look great on my résumé.

And really, when was the last time I partied till dawn?

I looked down at my hands with unseeing eyes. The answer to that question was clear. Never. I had never partied hard. I had never done anything "bad". Ever. I had never even told a little white lie before.

After a few more moments of weighing my options, I smiled at Kaufman, "All right. I'll do it."

Kaufman smiled, clapping her hands together, "Awesome! I'll give you all the information and then you can go get ready for tonight."

"T-tonight?"

"Mira Vesperia is throwing a party at a club downtown. It'll be your first chance to get in with the group."

I fought the urge to sigh again. There was no way that this was going to be easy.

**At 3 p.m.**

The school bell chimed loudly just as I pulled in the driveway in front of Zaphias Middle School. I tapped my fingers to the beat of the music pouring from my car's stereo, while waiting for Patty Fleur to find me. To some, our relationship was as a mother and daughter, but I knew better. Patty was like the little sister I never had. As an only child, I had never known what it was like to have siblings. As a result, I volunteered for a mentoring program that was geared towards helping out the children of single mothers. Patty's mom had agreed to let me pick up her daughter from school everyday and it was such a joy for me to do so.

"Estelle~!" I smiled as I caught sight of Patty's beautiful blonde hair. She waved in greeting to me and I returned it with a small wave as she ran towards my car.

"Hey Patty! Get in," I unlocked the door and Patty hopped in, while waving goodbye to some friends that were still waiting for their parents. We drove off as Patty shifted around in her seat, digging into her backpack and pulling out a bunch of teen fashion magazines.

"Operation Transformation starts right now! Are we going to the mall?" Patty asked, a wide grin spreading from ear to ear.

"Of course. I really have no idea what I need to buy for this... event."

"Haha! Estelle, is it really an event? People go to parties all the time!" Patty looked at me closely, lifting a delicate eyebrow, "Then again, it's you. Never mind."

Patty giggled to herself as I pouted, though it was all in good nature, "I am not that boring!"

"Hahaha. Estelle, you read books for fun! Not that there's anything wrong with that, but let's just be honest."

"Oh, whatever." I retorted, glaring at Patty out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh, don't pout! It'll be really fun! I get to dress you up!"

I fought the urge to sigh, and simply followed the flow of traffic. Today was going to be a very long day after all.

We arrived to the mall in about 30 minutes, with Patty flipping through her magazine collection and telling me everything she thought would be helpful during this shopping trip. I helped her out of the car, taking the magazines from her hand and placing a few in my tote bag. After all, I had no idea what I was doing.

"Estelle, I'm sure we can find someone to help us get you ready."

"Probably, but it's… Ah, I don't know how to explain it."

"Embarrassing?"

"Exactly." I felt heat rush to my cheeks for the second time that day, but for an entirely different reason. I really had no idea what outfit I would need to draw the attention of the great Yuri Lowell. I didn't even know what kind of person he was!

"Well don't worry! Patty the Great will help you!" I laughed as Patty drug me into the first women's clothing store she found.

**At 9 p.m.**

Many hours later, I was parking my car along the street, in a somewhat shady part of town. I applied a fresh coat of lipstick (yuck) and pulled on the tiny hemline of my dress. I wish I had worn a coat or something to cover up the tiny thing that Patty called "the ultimate party dress". It was white, off the shoulder, and super short, stopping at an area near my upper thigh.

I stepped out of the car, making sure I had my keys and a tiny clutch under my arm. I glanced in the mirror one last time, before crossing the street and getting in line.

"Here goes…."

"Geez, Estelle, don't look so terrified. You'd think someone was sending you to court or something."

I blinked, shocked to hear my name in this area, and also very, very worried. If someone knew my name already, how was I supposed to avoid talking about the real reason I came here? I immediately spun around and grinned at the sight of blue hair and tan skin, "K-Khroma! What on Earth are you doing here?"

Khroma was much taller than I, with a beautiful complexion and bright green eyes. She wore a tight purple dress that had a deep V-neck cut in the front. Sparkly black and purple heels completed her outfit.

"Shhhhhh, keep it down, would you?" Khroma looked around us as if on edge, before she stepped closer to me. She jumped up and draped her arms around me my neck, squealing as if she had chanced upon her best friend, "OH MY GOSH! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE HERE! How are you?!"

When she was sure no one was watching us any longer, she remained leaning on me and whispered in my ear, "I'm here to help you out. Kaufman told Flynn what she was planning and he immediately ran to me for help. He's very shocked that you even agreed to this little adventure."

"But won't someone recognize you?"

"Well no. The joys of being a mere secretary, I suppose. And if they do, my cousin has promised to help me… distract them." Khroma winked and I giggled loudly, before her words hit me like a ton of bricks.

"C-Cousin?"

"Yes, my cousin. You'll meet her once we get inside." And just as Khroma mentioned getting inside of the club, we reached the front of the line. She took my hand and led me in, as I gave a brief smile to the bouncer at the door. In no time we stepped inside of the dark club, with only the neon lights of the bar and strobe lights to pave our way. I looked around us at all the bodies pressed together, as the base pounded in my ears. Everywhere I looked there were people dancing and drinking, some smoking cigarettes while lounging in black leather chairs.

"Do you see him?" Khroma asked loudly, standing next to me. I shook my head softly and she nodded her head towards the front of the room. I followed her gaze and it was like… everything stood still. Time stopped as my heart slammed to a screeching halt in my chest.

There he was. Yuri Lowell.

He sat on a black leather couch in the VIP section, right next to the DJ booth. Confidence and masculinity rolled off of him, practically in tangible waves. I wasn't sure how I had missed him at all. It was certainly hard to ignore his presence now.

He had a curvy blue haired woman sprawled across his lap and his violet eyes were scanning the room as if he didn't even notice her. His beautiful, long raven hair cascaded over his shoulders as he leaned forward, soft and sleek in its appearance. He whispered something into the woman's ear and she sat up, a sensual giggle erupting from her perfect mouth. He stood up and I took in his long, lean legs, sporting a pair of tailored black slacks and an unbuttoned gray dress shirt. He walked over to speak briefly with a man who sat on the arm of the leather couch, before going back to his seat. With the girl gone from his lap, he crossed his legs, scanning the room once again. All of a sudden, his eyes fell right on me.

My breath caught in my throat and panic gathered in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't lie to someone like that! How on Earth was I supposed to pull this off?

A smirk spread across his lips, as if he had heard my thoughts and he motioned for me to come over to him. I wasn't sure if it was my nerves or the come hither look on his face, but I couldn't stop the butterflies that grew with each step towards that man. Khroma walked with me, tugging my arm in an effort to slow me down.

"Calmly. Slowly. Make him wait for it." She grinned at me, and I couldn't even return the gesture; I was just too nervous. I gave her a small, nerve-wracked smile as we walked forward. The blue haired woman who had been draped all over Yuri stood at the top of the staircase, peering down at us. Her eyes softened with recognition and she took Khroma's arm as soon as we got to the top step, "Cousin! I'm glad you could get some time off today."

"Haha, Judith, I haven't seen you in a such a long time; I had to come hang out."

The woman named Judith smiled, before regarding me with an uplifted eyebrow, "And who might you be?"

"I-I'm…" I paused. If I gave them my real name, would they know that I was a reporter? Would Khroma tell her cousin that I was lying? After a nudge from Khroma, I realized I was still staring at Yuri, who's smirk was growing by the second. I turned and faced Judith as a rush of heat flooded my cheeks and looked down at my feet in embarrassment, "I'm Celeste."

"Celeste, huh? Why'd it take you so long to answer? Do you not know your own name?"

I shook my head, laughing, though it sounded hollow even to me, "Oh no. I was just… so surprised that you guys would let us come up here."

"Yeah, well, that wasn't really my choice." I watched as Judith rolled her eyes, just as Yuri walked up and placed his hand on her shoulder. That delicious smirk was still on his face as he regarded both Khroma and I with an uplifted eyebrow.

"You two sure took your time getting up here." He grinned wolfislyh in my direction, before turning his gaze to Judith, "Judy, do you know these two ladies?"

"Yes. This is my cousin, Khroma, and her friend here is Celeste."

"Celeste, huh?" He looked me over from head to toe and for the second time that day, I cursed the short dress that Patty had made me wear today. Why, oh why, did I agree to wearing this tiny thing? "And do you ladies know who I am?"

"Of course we do. Everyone in this club knows who you are." Khroma responded, as her cousin took hold of her arm.

"Yuri, stop bothering them. Khroma, Celeste, let's go get a drink." Judy set off down the stairs with Khroma in tow, but Yuri grabbed hold of my arm. I bit on my bottom lip and turned around to face his beautiful eyes.

"Not you. I have some questions for you."

I gulped loudly, and let him lead me to the leather couch he had occupied earlier. The man on the edge of the couch gave me a small wave and went back to watching the crowd.

"Ummmmm… what is it that you want to ask me?" I fidgeted nervously under his scrutiny, wringing my hands together.

"Have I seen you before? You seem really familiar to me."

Ooh no! I coughed loudly, and fought the look of panic that was spreading across my face. Instead, I plastered on my best smile and hoped it looked genuine, "Today is the first time I've ever met you, Yuri Lowell."

He looked contemplative, regarding me as if his clear eyes could see through my lie, "Are you sure about that? I really feel like I've seen you before."

I shook my head firmly, and hoped that my eyes didn't betray me, "Nope, never."

Yuri sighed, leaning back on the couch and putting his hands behind his head, "You're probably right. I think I would remember such pretty pink hair." He looked over and winked at me, as a blush stained my cheeks again.

"Ah, t-thank you."

He nodded as if to say "you're welcome" and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. I sat, waiting for more, hoping he wouldn't have a sudden revelation about where he'd possibly seen me before, but he didn't. Instead, he poured two shots of vodka and held one out for me.

"So Celeste… Do you drink?"

End Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Black and White Lies

By: Sailorjj07

2. Chapter 2

A/N: Back again, I see! I'm just trucking along! There will be a few POV switches in this chapter, so try to stay with me guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

**Actions**

(Me!)

_The wind brushed kisses against my cheeks as I sat, surrounded by flowers. I smiled up at the sky, basking in the bright warm sun, before turning my eyes back down to the soft petals all around me. The breeze was cool but not enough to make me cold. I breathed in the delightful smells that filled the air and stretched out along the ground, not at all worrying about my white dress._

_It was such a beautiful day._

"_Estelle? Where are you?" A masculine voice called from across the field of flowers. I sat up and turned to the voice, waving cheerfully._

"_I'm here!"_

_It only took a few seconds for him to get to me. There was a cheerful smirk that spread across his lips, but for the life of me, I couldn't see his face._

"_Estelle, why'd you run off?" He walked towards me, as warmth filled me from head to toe. He crossed the field in powerful strides, closing the distance between us easily. The man embraced me tightly and I could feel my heart fluttering in my chest._

_Who was this person? What was going on?_

"Ah, I think she's waking up!"

I groaned as the sounds of the room brought me out of my dream. My head ached and I really, really wanted to sleep just a little longer. If only to figure out whom that man was.

"It's about time." The female voice that spoke was a bit further away from the first voice. Were there two people in the room with me?

"Hey! You shouldn't have given her so much to drink in the first place!" This voice wasn't familiar at all. So there were three people in here.

"Don't blame me, Rita! Blame Yuri!" And that was the voice of the person that had woken me up. It must be Raven, the man who was at the club with us as well. I tried to open my eyes, but my body was still trying to get out of the fuzzy haze of sleep.

"Ugh, I swear. You two are supposed to be adults, you know? What the hell..."

"Hey, it's not my fault!"

"Well whatever. Just be glad I decided to come here after school."

I rolled to my side and opened my eyes. There were actually four people in the room, all staring at me. Raven sat in a chair next to the bed I was laying in, while a brown haired girl stood over me with her arms crossed. I could see Judith and Khroma sitting on a loveseat near the wall.

The brown haired girl put her finger in front of my face and moved it from left to right, "Hi Celeste. Can you see how many fingers I'm holding up?"

I nodded, following the motions of her hand, "Yes." I glanced up at the girl's face, and decided to sit up so I can get a better look. As a reward, she flashed a bright light, right into my eyes.

"Ahh!" I squinted against the bright light, feeling a headache form at the back of my brain.

"Sorry, Celeste. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." The flashlight flicked off and the girl glanced down at me. She had a confident and almost overbearing demeanor, but she seemed very calm. And certainly younger than I thought. "Oh, I'm Rita by the way. Rita Mordio."

"Rita? It's very nice to meet you. I'm-"

"She already knows who you are." All eyes turned in the direction of the door, where Yuri Lowell stood, leaning against the doorway. At his heels sat a beautiful, extremely large dog with intelligent eyes. Yuri patted the dog's head absently, and then turned his eyes to mine.

"Hey, you're alive," he said with a warm smile.

I smiled back, not quite sure what he meant by that, "Why wouldn't I be?"

**Yuri's Point of View**

Wow. She really didn't remember anything from yesterday? Surely she remembered drinking too much and passing out?

I chuckled as I turned my gaze to the rest of the people in the room. I could answer her questions later, but right now…

"Let me talk to Sleeping Beauty for a minute, guys." I glanced at the faces around the room, waiting for them to nod their consent and leave. The last person to walk past me was Rita, who lifted a curious eyebrow in my direction.

Before she was completely out the door, Celeste said quickly, "Ah~! It was nice to meet you, Rita! Thank you for checking on me."

Rita paused in the door for a second, and I could see the surprise spreading across her face. A small smile formed there and she waved over her shoulder, closing the door behind her.

And then there were two.

As if reading my thoughts, Repede gave a small bark, looking up at me with his clear eyes. I patted his head again and sat down in the chair that Raven had occupied moments earlier. Celeste watched me with those bright, big green eyes, as if waiting for me to say something.

"So do you remember anything at all, Princess?" I asked, leaning back in the chair. I reminded myself to get something more comfortable later, because really, wooden chairs suck.

"Hmmmm…. Well I remember meeting you at the club. I also remember you offering me a shot of Vodka…"

"A shot? You drank about seven." I chuckled when she visibly winced at the number of shots she had taken.

"Wow, really? Oh man, I must have really been out!" She laughed nervously, a blush of embarrassment blooming on her face, and I found myself smiling with her.

"Well, either you are really stupid, or very, very trusting, because I have never seen a woman get so drunk in front of me."

Celeste was quiet for a moment and then looked at me curiously, "Why would you say something like that? Were you planning on doing something bad to me?" As if she had just thought about that possibility, she adjusted the blanket over her legs, making sure it covered her lap completely.

Like that was really going to stop someone from doing indecent things.

"It's just that, you know, most women that approach me don't exactly have the best intentions in mind." I watched her carefully as I spoke, waiting for some sign that she had those very ideas.

Instead she glanced at me warily, as if she all of a sudden didn't trust me, "But you called me over to you. Wouldn't you be the one with bad intentions?"

"No, I didn't, you-" I paused in mid-sentence. She was right, of course. I had called her over all on my own. I had been curious about her from the moment she walked in. It was impossible to ignore her tight white dress and beautifully pink hair. It was hard to look away from the purity that she wore like a neon sign. The dress fit her well, filled in at all the right places, but it didn't fit her aura. She was too innocent and pure to even be in that dirty little club. She was just too…good.

How was I supposed to ignore that?

"It was your fault," I murmured under my breath, before looking up. She was staring at me with those bright, wide green eyes of her's, and I looked down at Repede just to get away from her gaze.

This girl was so weird.

"So how'd I end up here?" She interrupted my musings with a question and I halted my train of thought to answer her.

"Well…"

**Flashback**

_Celeste leaned her head back and downed a second shot of vodka, licking her lips as if she was savoring the taste._

"_I haven't had a drink in a very long while," she said absently, her eyes looking down at the empty glass. _

_I smirked and poured her a third, "Well, there's plenty to go around."_

_She smiled gratefully and took the third quickly, and from the looks of it, it didn't faze her. She sat the glass down and a lazy smile spread across her face._

_Nope, never mind._

"_So have you been here before?" I leaned back, figuring she didn't want another shot. To my surprise, she gave me a questioning look as she reached toward the vodka bottle. I nodded my assent and she poured herself a fourth, though she didn't drink it._

"_I've actually never been here before. Khroma invited me to come with her to meet up with Judith."_

"_Oh? How do you know Khroma?" I leaned forward, watching her face. Instead of answering me, she took the shot she had poured and swallowed it in one gulp. I could tell that the shots were definitely starting to affect her._

"_Ah, she works with a friend of mine." She looked down at her hands before meeting my gaze. I realized that I liked her green eyed gaze on me. It was pleasant._

"_Oh? Where's that?" I asked, scooting a little closer. It was a little hard to hear her over all the loud music._

"_She's a secretary."_

"_A secretary, huh? I could see that."_

_Celeste nodded back absentmindedly, as she watched people on the dance floor. She quickly poured her sixth shot, downed it quickly, and turned to me. She was certainly drunk, as an adorable, alcohol-induced blush spread across her face. _

"_Do you dance, Yuri Lowell?"_

_I blinked at her. Did I dance? I hadn't in a very long while…_

_Sensing my hesitation, Celeste giggled girlishly, and stood up. She smiled at me and held her hand out to me, "Let's try it, Mr. Lowell."_

_I looked at her in a combination of awe and surprise. Was she really innocent or was she really just that bold? Whatever it was, Celeste had managed to steal my breath from me in mere moments. A part of me felt like there was a lot more at stake than just one dance…_

_I shook those serious thoughts from my mind, while wondering if I had had too much to drink myself. Surely, that's why she had this effect on me… I was drunk._

"_Yuri."_

_She tilted her head in the most curious manner as I took her hand and led her down the stairs, "Huh?"_

"_Call me Yuri."_

**End Flashback**

"So you mean to tell me I passed out after we started dancing? Wow! I remember going out on the floor with you, but after that, everything's kinda…. blank." Celeste looked down at her hands, as if she could force herself to remember and I just patted her shoulder.

"Well, it's not much to worry about. After all, I brought you back safe and alive, didn't I?"

She nodded, awarding me with one of those breathtaking smiles of hers, "You certainly did. Thank you, Yuri."

I nodded, as Repede began to bark and walk towards the door. Both Celeste and I turned towards the door, just as someone began to knock. Finally, the door creaked open. It was Khroma.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt, but we have a problem," she said, and by the serious look on her face, I wondered how bad it was.

"What's going on, Khroma?"

"Well, I went back to the club to get my car and well…. Celeste, they towed your car."

"They what?!"

**Estelle's POV**

I tried to contain my panic. How on Earth was I supposed to get to my car back? And what was I going to do about the towing fee? I could call my parents for money but that would be a horribly long story…

Yuri glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, before turning his back to me and facing Khroma, "I'll take care of it."

Khroma's eyebrow shot up, practically disappearing into her hairline, "You'll… take care of it?"

Yuri shrugged nonchalantly, "Sure. I mean, it's sort of my fault for leaving her car there in the first place, you know?"

"Oh, Yuri, you don't have to do that. I'll just call my parents and-"

"No, really. I'll take care of it. There's no point in getting your family involved." Yuri turned to me with a smirk and gave me a gentle pat on the head, "Won't they yell at you for getting your car towed at a bar? Or for sleeping in a stranger's house?"

Of course they would! But I didn't tell him that.

"T-Thanks." I don't know why I was stuttering in the first place, but I was certainly surprised by all this.

"Thank you very much, Yuri. If that's the case, I'll leave Celeste to you!" Khroma grinned mischievously, pushing past Yuri to hug me around the neck. "Call me if you need anything, Celeste."

I was surprised that Khroma would hug me, but apparently there was another reason so I kept my mouth shut when Khroma leaned towards my ear.

"Things are going good. Don't screw it up," she whispered softly and I gave a brief nod, as she released me.

"S-See you later, Khroma~! I'll call you later, okay?"

"Of course. Bye Mr. Lowell." Khroma waved over her shoulder as she sauntered out of the room, and I released a sigh of relief that I hadn't realized I was holding.

"So, you ready to go pick up your car?" Yuri asked as he turned his gaze to me.

"Sure! But could a clean up a bit first?"

"Of course."

**An Hour Later**

The towing company employee pulled my car up in front of me while I stood there trying to keep my dress from creeping up any higher. Yuri watched me with amusement clear in his eyes, but thankfully, he didn't say anything.

The man handed me my keys, said goodbye and walked away.

"Yuri, I can't thank you enough for helping me out." I gushed, meaning every word I said. "I'll give you all the money back as soon as I can."

"Oh, I don't want your money," he said, as a wolfish grin spread across his face. Yuri stepped into my personal space, and all of a sudden, I was very, very nervous.

I blinked rapidly, trying to still the pounding in my heart as I took a step back towards my car, "W-Well, then how would you like me to repay you?"

He made a show of thinking about it, hooking his index finger under his chin and closing his eyes. All of a sudden, that wolfish grin came back on his face and he snapped his fingers, "Ah~! I have an idea."

'_Oh God….. Is he going to make me his sex slave?'_

A shudder ran through me as his slate colored eyes fell on my face. What was he going to do to me?

**Yuri's POV**

"Would you like to hear it?"

Celeste was so transparent. I could already tell that she was completely unnerved by my words, and I grinned inwardly. It was a good thing that I made her nervous.

Maybe now she would stop trusting me so much.

My gaze flickered to her delicate throat as she swallowed heavily, biting her bottom lip before she spoke, "S-Sure."

"Hmmm…." I said, as I put on the most thoughtful look on my face I could manage, "Well I was thinking you could pay off your debt to me by working for me."

There it was again… that nervous flicker of her bright green eyes as she tried to figure out what I would say next. I grinned harder, if that was even possible.

'_Does she think I'm going to make her do something immoral? …Though I might actually enjoy that...'_

I shook the thoughts from my head and focused on her once again, as her eyes were growing wider by the second.

"W-Work for you? What sort of work do you need me to do?"

"Well, I don't exactly know yet. I have no idea what you're good at."

Her eyes brightened cheerfully, as she clapped her hands together, excitement in her voice, "Oh, I can cook! And sew."

'_Just like a perfect little housewife….Wait, what?'_

"Hahaha, you're so domestic."

"Well, as a child my parents thought it would good to-! Hey, are you being rude right now, Yuri?" Her agitated voice rang out and she crossed her arms over her chest, clearly pouting.

I laughed out loud, trying to tell myself that she didn't have the cutest pout I'd ever seen in my life, "Now why on Earth would I be rude to you? I'm asking you to work for me, remember?"

"Ugh, whatever Yuri~!" The frown on her face grew and she turned her body away from me, giving me a wonderful view of her side profile. As if she could tell exactly what I was looking at, she tugged at the hemline of her dress, as a line of red color kissed her cheeks.

Before I could stop myself, my hands brushed her own away and I invaded her space once again to whisper in her ear, "Leave it. I think it's hot."

The blush staining her cheeks grew to the brightest of reds I had ever seen and she placed a hand on my chest, stepping back into her car door, "T-Thanks." She said, as she diverted her gaze from me.

I chuckled again, and stepped away to give her some space, "So Celeste, are you agreeing to working for me to pay off your debt?"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" She gave an exasperated sigh before holding her hand out to me, "You have a deal."

My fingers enclosed around her own, feeling both the firmness of her handshake and the soft, supple smoothness of her skin… just like the rest of her.

"Great! You'll be in charge of taking care of about 6 or 7 people for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Do you think you could handle that?"

"Yes, I can handle it." A breeze blew by and Celeste shivered, though this time it wasn't because of me.

"Oh, I left you standing in the cold this whole time. Do you have a cell phone?"

Her eyebrows furrowed as she nodded at me and reached into her little bag and pulled out a pale pink cell phone.

"Give it here. I'll put my number in and you can call me when you get home." Celeste handed the phone and I punched my number in and then saved it under "My Handsome Boss". When I handed it back to her, she giggled loudly as I winked at her. "So you'll call me?"

She nodded obediently and opened her car door. After a thought, she turned back around to face me, "Are there any other rules I should know about?"

"Oh we can talk about those later. Just go home. I'm sure you want to shower," I glanced down at her dress as well, memorizing the beauty of her creamy pale legs unintentionally, "And change."

Her cheeks colored again and she got into the car, slamming the door behind her. I laughed outright as she rolled the window down.

"I'll call you when I get home."

"Drive safely, Princess."

She gave me a mock roll of her eyes as she rolled her window back up, before waving at me and starting her car up. I stepped out of the way as she drove off, waving back slowly. I inhaled deeply, releasing the air out on a sigh as I walked back to my car. I stared down at my hands, remembering the feel of Celeste's hand and her skin where I had touched her thigh.

"What the hell did I just do?"

End Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Black and White Lies

By: Sailorjj07

3. Chapter 3

A/n: Bored on my lunch hour, so I figured, why not work on some stories? Hoorraayy!

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Actions**

(Me!)

Before I could go home, I made a quick run to the nearest megastore. It would be a bad idea to use my own cell phone during this job, simply because my real name was on the caller ID. I didn't think Yuri would run a background check on me; he seemed like a "no questions asked" kinda guy.

But it was better to be safe, than sorry.

After purchasing a pre-paid, throw away phone, a new toothbrush, and a couple other things, I finally started the drive back to my house. The word "exhausted" didn't begin to describe how I felt.

I opened the door to my apartment, took off my shoes, and immediately snuggled into my warm bed. I could shower after I got more sleep.

As I reached over to plug my cell phone into the charger, a loud vibration shook my hand.

"Hmmmm?"

I flipped open the device, noticing that I had gotten a text from my best friend, Flynn. Flynn Scifo was a detective for the Zaphias Police Department. He and I had gone to high school and college together. Back then, everyone thought that we would get married. But I knew better. If I was boring, Flynn was the human embodiment of watching paint dry. I would never tell him that though.

_Flynn: R u ok?_

I plugged both phones into their respective chargers and stretched out on my bed.

_Me: I'm fine. Just tired._

_Flynn answered my text immediately._

_Flynn: I cant believe u took this job._

_Me: I can do it!_

_Flynn: It's dangerous_

_I scoffed at the phone. His entire job was dangerous! Why couldn't I do something a little dangerous for once?_

_Me: It's kinda fun…_

_Flynn: Estelle! Dont say that!_

_Me: I'm g2bed now_

_Flynn: Txt me when u wake up. Lunch?_

_Me: Sounds good. Usual place?_

_Flynn: k_

I sat both of my phones on the nightstand and laid back down. I would have to get used to these late nights and early mornings.

"Oh crap!"

I shot up in bed, suddenly remembering something. I turned on my new cell phone and set up the profile, immediately calling Yuri when I was done. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hey princess. I was beginning to wonder if you forgot about me." Yuri's deep voice in my ear was certainly a beautiful sound. I felt my face warming, thanking the Heavens that he couldn't see me.

"No, sorry. I was just about to lay down when I remembered to call. I made it home safely!"

Yuri's warm chuckle made me smile too, "Good. I won't ask you to start working today, since I know you're tired. But~! We're having a pool party tonight at the house. You could meet the entire gang. You wanna come?"

"Sure. I can come." I looked over at the clock that read 7:00 am. Normally, I would be waking up at this hour, not getting in the bed. "What time is the party?"

"Oh, haha, you might need that information. I think it officially starts at 6, but mostly everyone will be here by 7 tonight." There was some shuffling on Yuri's side of the line, and then a bark, "Whoa Repede, calm down."

"Oh no, is Repede okay?"

"Oh yeah, he's just really hungry. Hold on a sec," Yuri moved away from the phone for a minute, before his voice was in my ear again, "Okay. Sorry about that. Now, do you remember how to get here? If not, I could come pick you up."

"Ah, I'm really sorry, Yuri. I don't remember." The lie slipped from my lips so easily, it shocked even me. I absolutely remembered how to get there, but if I rode in Yuri's car I might be able to find things… physical clues, to help with my story. "Is it really okay for you to pick me up?"

"Don't worry about it. It's not a problem at all. I'd never turn down the chance to show off my beautiful car to an even more beautiful lady."

I blushed again, embarrassed at the girlish giggle that bubbled up from my mouth, "Then I would love to take you up on that offer."

"Hmmm, then I'll pick you up at 6:30. Text me your address, okay?"

"Alright. Oh, and Yuri? Will Rita be there?"

"Yep, Rita and Karol, the other rugrat. There's not a whole lot of kids in the group their age though."

"I have a younger cousin that would love to meet them. Do you think it would be okay for her to come too?" For some reason, I figured that bringing Patty along might earn me some brownie points with Yuri. For whatever reason, Rita and Karol seemed important to him.

"Hmmmm, I dunno. Is she cute like you?"

"Well, she is my relative," I giggled again, pressing the phone closer to my ear, "I'm not sure if it's okay for a 'handsome boss' to hit on an employee though. Isn't there some kind of rule against that?"

Yuri laughed easily at my joke, "Not when I make all the rules! I'm perfectly fine with you calling me handsome every day, if you want."

My face was on fire at this point. I was soooo glad he couldn't see me in person!

"Well, really, I'm only using the name on my contact list."

"Ha Ha, Celeste."

I leaned back against the pillows, looking at the clock once again. "I have to call my Aunt to make sure I can kidnap my younger cousin for the night, so I'll text you the address later today."

"Roger that. I'll see you tonight then."

"Yep, it's a date!" I blurted before I could catch myself. Totally embarrassed with myself, I hung up the phone, not even saying good bye.

"Ahhhhhhhh, why did I do that?! I was so rude for hanging up in his face!" I snatched a pillow from the other side of the bed and pressed my pouting face into it.

**Yuri's POV**

I stared at the phone for a moment after I had hung up the phone. Celeste sounded like she was actually excited about going to the pool party. Now that I knew she was coming, I guess I was a little excited too.

"Oh, your first phone call with your new girlfriend?" Raven smirked at me as he strolled into the kitchen, making his way over to the fridge. I shook my head and put the phone in my pocket, putting the girl in the back of my mind for a moment.

"Have we heard anything else from the contractor?"

"Nothing that I know of. I'm sure Alexei's gonna be pissed though. If we keep stealing from him-"

I held my hand up, cutting off Raven's rant, "Hey, it's no one's fault but his own. He keeps pissing people off and they keep asking me to steal from him. If he just followed ethical business practices, we wouldn't be in his building once a month."

Raven's smirk grew even more, if that was possible, "Haha, like WE follow ethical practices? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"

I stood up from my seat at the kitchen bar, petting Repede's head as he devoured the food in front of him, "Heyyyyy, I'm running an honest business. And all of my customers have been 100% satisfied with my services."

Raven laughed whole-heartedly, biting into a ham and cheese sandwich, "Oh, if the dead could talk."

I sighed heavily, "I'd rather not here what they have to say."

"That's understandable." Raven regarded me carefully, taking up the chair I had just occupied, "So when's the princess coming by?"

At the mention of Celeste, I felt a smile forming on my face. For some reason, she sounded extremely nervous during our phone call, "She's coming to the party tonight. I'm gonna go pick her up later."

"Oooohhhh, first date, eh?"

"She said something like that, yeah." I watched Repede finish off his food as my mind focused on Celeste's words.

Would the party really be considered a date? I wasn't actively "trying" to date her - I just wanted to see her again.

"Oh my. Nervous?"

"Of what? A girl like her? Come on, Raven, you know me better than that," I clapped him on the shoulder, then waited for Repede to run over to me, like he always did. "Come on Repede, let's go for a walk. The old man needs some time to come back to his senses."

**At Noon, Estelle's POV**

Yeager's Homestyle German Cafe was one of Flynn's favorite places to have lunch. I was impartial towards their lunch fare, but the Twins' cake was some of the best in Zaphias. I sat down at our usual table in the restaurant, waiting for Flynn. He walked in merely moments after me.

"Estelle," he said, giving me a warm hug and a smile. Flynn was so handsome, and kind. I truly enjoyed having him as a friend, even if he was a bit… boring.

"Hey Flynn! I ordered already," I tapped the number card I had laid face up on the table, and then took a sip of water.

"Do you get actual food this time?" He dropped a single sugar cube into his cup of coffee, giving it a testing sip, before adding another.

"I did! With a side of cake, of course."

"Haha, I expected no less from you."

I took another drink of water, glancing out of the window. The day was unreasonably warm for fall, which was great for a pool party. I briefly wondered if Yuri actually had an indoor pool, but shrugged it off. I probably wasn't going to swim much anyway.

"So let's get to business."

I fought the urge to sigh out loud. I really didn't want to have this conversation with Flynn, "Flynn, just let me-"

"No, Estelle. You shouldn't be doing this. It's dangerous. Plus, you can't lie your way out of a paper bag. How are you supposed to make sure you don't get hurt? Or worse?"

I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest, "I'll have you know I can lie very well! As a matter of fact, Yuri doesn't even know my real name."

"You're on a first name biases with him already? What did you DO?"

I frowned, "I'm not sure what you're insinuating and I don't think I want to know. The fact still stands that I took this job and I'm going to finish it. You can either help me stay alive or you can get in my way."

"But Estelle-!"

Just as Flynn began again, the green haired twin, Droite, walked up with our food. She smiled at us, and placed each item down in front of the respective owner. "Enjoy your meal!"

We both nodded at her, waiting until she was well away before beginning again, "I'm just worried about you, you know? He could kill you."

I took a bite out of my cake first, savoring the sweet taste of strawberries. I didn't answer Flynn for a moment while I took a second bite, then looked up at his awaiting gaze, "Flynn, I can do this. Have faith in me. I'd never put my life on the line for something dumb."

"I know, but I just can't help it. This is Yuri Lowell we're talking about. He can't be trusted." Flynn took a thoughtful bite out of his sandwich and I watched him curiously. The way he stated that, it almost sounds like…

"You know him personally." I set my fork down to look Flynn in the eyes. He avoided my gaze at first, but finally looked up at me, a mixture of embarrassment and shame on his face.

"He went to college with us, for a year. He dropped out before starting year two."

"WHAT?!"

This was bad. If Yuri knew Flynn before, that means he had to have met me at some point in time. I racked my brain for a time when we would have met, but I couldn't think of anything.

"I'm sorry, Estelle. It's a secret I've kept for a while since I work for the police force."

"Flynn, this is-! You can't be serious!"

"Estelle, I'm really sorry. But let's look at it this way; he probably never saw you, so it's not like-"

"Oh no." I breathed out heavily, shaking my head. I couldn't recall ever meeting Yuri, but that didn't mean he couldn't remember meeting me, "Shoot. What are we going to do, Flynn?"

"Well for now, all you can do is play along. If he knows you by another name, then I'm sure he doesn't remember you from before."

"Ah, I hope not," I bit into my cake nervously, completely forgoing my sandwich. I could eat it later.

"So how long is this job going to take?" Flynn asked, staring at me cautiously. He tried to eat his burger calmly, but I could tell that my visible freak out was making him a bit nervous.

"I'm not sure. How ever long it takes me to gather information. I really need as much background information as possible so Kaufman gave me two months. She says I can take longer if I want."

Flynn nodded, "Well, try to make this as quick as possible so I don't have to worry."

I smiled at Flynn warmly; he really was considerate, "Thanks. I'll do my best."

**At 6:45 pm, Yuri's POV**

I picked up Celeste and her cousin in front of the Zaphias Mall, at the request of Patty's mother. Apparently, the girl had been out shopping with her mom when her cousin called, so it was just decided that it would be easier to pick them up from there.

"Are you worried your car might get towed again, Celeste?" I teased as I opened the car door for the lovely pink haired vision in front of me. Celeste sported a flowy white sundress and a wide brimmed hat, looking as innocent and beautiful as she was when I met her just yesterday.

'Holy crap, I've only known this girl a day.' I sighed inwardly and ran my fingers through my hair as I opened the door for her younger cousin, Patty. The kid was adorable - Celeste hadn't lied about that.

"Oh no, it should be fine. It is the mall parking lot after all."

"Yeah, and if worse comes to worse, my Mama will come get it!" Patty cheered, carefully buckling her seat belt and smiling at me cheerfully.

I smiled back at her from the rear view mirror, and started up the car, while Celeste watched me cautiously. She flicked her gaze to me and then immediately faced forward when I caught her. Her cheeks sported an endearing streak of red.

"So did you get enough sleep last night? You don't seem like much of a party girl," I lifted an eyebrow at the 'deer in headlights' look that I saw flash across Celeste's face, and tried not to laugh at her as she turned her head away completely.

"I'm absolutely a party girl."

"Bahahaha, no she's not Yuri, don't listen to her." Patty laughed heartily as if it was the funniest joke in the world.

"Patty, you make me sound like I'm boring."

"Welllllllllll, I'm not one to put labels on anyone but-"

Celeste gave a huff of irritation and this time I did chuckle at her expense.

"It's okay. I didn't take you for the type to be out at all hours of the day anyway."

"Well, just so you know, I have been to a party before."

"Was it as great as mine?" I asked, making a right turn on road in front of me. I glanced at Celeste out of the corner of my eye and saw her blushing again as she quietly shook her head.

Amused by her unnecessary adorableness, I patted her pink head gingerly, "Well, don't worry! You'll get to see a lot more of those!"

"Oooh, I'm so excited!" Patty squealed in delight, pumping her fist in the air.

I winked at her in the rear view mirror, "As you should be. Every member of Mira Vesperia will be here."

"Oooooohhhh~! Are you guys like…. a band or something?" Patty asked, curiously, leaning forward so that her head was between the driver and passenger seat.

"Haha, more like...an independent business. I have employees and they do work for me. Think of today like…. a company party."

Celeste's expression was unreadable as she listened to my words, and since I was driving it was hard to search her emerald orbs for more.

"Ahhhh! My Mama says that we should support independent businesses!"

Celeste cut into our conversation, "Patty, sit back. You'll hit your head if you're not careful."

"Oops!" Patty sat back, turning to glance out of the window, before looking back in my direction, "My cousin says that there are more kids my age at the party!"

"Yeah. You'll get to meet them soon enough."

Patty smiled at me warmly, then turned to "oooh" and "ah" over something outside of the window. I glanced at Celeste's side profile while she talked quietly to the girl sitting behind her.

She really was beautiful, and she looked much more at home in a long, flowing dress, then the tiny one she had on last night.

Thinking about it more, I remembered that her dress from last night was white as well, "Is white your favorite color?"

Celeste turned to face me again, tilting her head curious, "One of them, yes."

"One of them?"

"Well…. I like purple too. And black. Oh! I like green too," she counted off each color with her fingers, with Patty snickering in the back,

"Hah, you'd love my closet then. That's half my wardrobe."

"My favorite color is navy blue!" Patty called, wanting to be included in the conversation.

"That's… oddly specific," I said, causing Celeste to giggle girlishly beside me. I winked at her as we pulled into my driveway. Raven's truck was already parked, which told me that Rita and Karol were there already. There were a few other cars I recognized too, but Judy's car wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Welcome to my home, ladies," I said, getting out of the car so I could let them both out.

**Estelle's POV**

"Patty, are you sure this is okay?" I asked her once again. I had been proud of my swimsuit before we got here, but now I was worried that it may be too much.

"You look beautiful… Celeste," Patty stressed the usage of my fake name and giggled loudly.

"Oh, come on, not you too! Flynn told me it was a bad name."

Patty shook her head enthusiastically, "It's great! We can do this. I'll help."

I took Patty's hand, clasping her fingers between both of mine, "I do feel a lot calmer with you here."

"That's what I'm here for!" Patty cheered, a wide smile covering her face, "Now let's get out of this bathroom and show off your awesome swimsuit!"

I blushed as Patty led me out of the bathroom and back to the pool. It was a combination indoor pool, that led to an outdoor pool area. Yuri was outside, talking with Raven and a burly man by the girl. Children ran past me, giggling and jumping into the water, while their parents scolded them. It seemed just like a normal pool party.

"Celeste. Y-You're here?!" I turned to see Rita standing in front of me, a blush spreading across her face.

"Rita! Hello!" I smiled warmly at her, and she averted her gaze, staring at the ground.

"Hey…"

I took her hand and squeezed it gently, "It's really great to see you again! Thank you very much for your help the other day."

Rita's blush grew, if that was possible, "D-Don't mention."

"Ah, Celeste is this Rita?" Patty walked up to me with a soda in her hand, sipping from the straw as she gave Rita a once over.

"Who are you, shorty?" Rita frowned at her, crossing her arms.

"Excuse me? You're not exactly a bean pole yourself!" Patty replied, glaring at Rita. At that moment, a brown haired boy with a cheerful smile walked up to the three of us.

"Rita, are you being rude again?" The boy asked, and Rita turned her glare to him. The younger boy gave her a bored look, as if he wasn't going to let her rile him up.

"No, I'm being honest. Being short isn't a contagious disease, is it?"

"Riiiiitttaaa!" He exclaimed, his eyes growing wide.

"Ugh, whatever." Rita huffed and walked away towards Raven and Yuri. The little boy turned towards Patty and I, laughing sheepishly.

"Don't worry about her. She gets like that some times," he held out his hand and both Patty and I took a turn to shake it, "I'm Karol. Yuri likes to call me Capt'n Karol, though I'm not quite sure why."

"Your a captain?! That's so cool! " Patty cried, grabbing his hand in excitement. A red blush covered the younger boy's cheeks, as he gave an embarrassed laugh.

"Yeah...wellll…"

"I'm Patty, and this is-"

"Kaaarrrooolllll. Let's swim!" An adorable girl with dark brown hair waved at Karol from the other side of the pool. He immediately dropped Patty's hand, though he didn't run off.

"Say, Patty," Karol put his hands behind his head, as a slow smile spread across his features, "Would you like to go swim with Nan and me?"

Patty nodded, and then turned to me, "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is! You're at a pool party! Go have fun." I smiled warmly at Patty and she nodded, taking off behind Karol. I gave a small wave as she ran off, then turned to find a chair or chaise.

As I was looking for a place to sit, Yuri's dark gaze fell on me. We stared at each other from the other side of them room, and I had to take a breath to calm the pounding in my heart. It was just like at the club last night.

Yuri smiled, then patted Raven on the shoulder before walking towards me. I plopped down in a lounge chair just as Yuri reached me. He sat on the edge of the chair, and I moved my legs up so that he had a place to sit.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" He asked me, giving me a glance over. He wasn't staring or gawking but I felt my cheeks warm anyway.

"Yes, very much. Everyone is so nice."

Yuri grinned wolfishly and reached towards me to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, "That's because I told them if they weren't nice to you and Patty, they would be in deep trouble."

I giggled, trying to take the flirtatious tone out of my voice, "Oh? The big bad Yuri Lowell is going to protect me?"

Yuri's grin grew wider, if that was possible, "Absolutely."

Before I could open my mouth to reply, Judith walked up with Khroma standing behind her. Both women were beautiful and voluptuous in their swimsuits, and for some reason, I felt self-conscious again.

"Oh, I didn't know she was going to be here." Judith stated, a look of disdain spreading across her face as she hugged Yuri's back. I tried not to watch as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, but I had to admit - they looked great together.

"Celeste! You made it!" Khroma uncharacteristically smiled and waved cheerfully at me, mouthing the word 'bathroom' to me, as Yuri and Judith whispered to each other.

I nodded and stood up, quickly, "Um excuse me, I'll be right back." I didn't even glance behind me as I walked away.

I had just made it to the bathroom where Patty and I had been earlier before a knock resounded on the door, and I grabbed Khroma's wrist. She shut and locked the door behind her, leaning up against it.

"Well looks like you're doing well."

"I'm doing that best that I can, I guess." I heaved a loud sigh, plopping down on the rim of the bathtub.

"How's information gathering going?"

"I really don't have a feel for the group yet. This has only been the second day."

"Well as the group is gathered, I suggest I start chatting up the crowd."

I nodded, "That's probably the best course of action."

Khroma gave me an odd look for a moment, before shaking her head, "I'm so surprised Kaufman chose you."

"What?" I stood up, "Have you been talking to Flynn?"

Khroma heaved a sigh of relief, "He made me promise to tell you to stop this."

"I'm going to see it through, Khroma." I said, pressing my fist to my chest. The other woman nodded, and opened the bathroom door.

"My only job here is to support you. Let's go back out, shall we?"

**Yuri's POV**

It seemed like the girls were in the bathroom forever. I stretched out in Celeste's lounge chair while listening to the sounds of laughter and conversation all around me.

_'Good. Everyone's relaxing and having fun.'_

It had been a long time since I threw any of these parties for myself. These were mostly for the people who worked so hard for me, putting their lives on the line for the job. They deserved to live life to the fullest and have fun. The deserved a place where they could relax and unwind.

Especially after the things I've asked them to do…

"Oh Yuri! There you are."

I looked up to find that Celeste had finally come back from the bathroom. I raked my gaze over her form once again, admiring her pale complexion and lovely shape again. Even though she was the epitome of innocence, my princess was still the prettiest girl in the room.

_'MY princess? Get it together, Yuri.'_

I shook my head and stood up, a smile spreading across my features, "I thought I was going to have to text you guys a map."

"I needed help with my zipper," Khroma said, not batting an eyelash when I gave her a doubtful look.

"Say Yuri…" Celeste blushed, looking down at her feet before she continued speaking, "Could you… do you mind introducing me to your friends? I don't want to be the only person at the party that doesn't know anyone."

I got up from the chair, a smirk gracing my face, as I leaned in and whispered, "The only person you need to know here is me."

The blush that covered Celeste from her head to her toes was the perfect reply to my words.

"I-I don't want to be rude," she stammered and I chuckled at her adorable expression as I took her hand in mine.

"Well we can't have that. Come on, social butterfly. I'll introduce you to everyone."

End Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Black and White Lies

By: Sailorjj07

4. Chapter 4

A/n: My updating is SO bad, lol. They'll be some POV switching in this chapter, so hopefully it's not too confusing. I know this chapter is super short, but I promise the next one will be longer.

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

**Actions**

(Me!)

**Yuri's POV**

After introducing Celeste to everyone at the party, she and I sat and just… talked. It was an odd feeling for me since I never talk that much. I never WANT to talk that much, if I'm honest. But each time a topic would come to a close, Celeste's curious green eyes would fall on me, and I felt compelled to answer anything she asked me.

It was certainly a new feeling..

"Hey Yuri!" I turned away from Celeste to see Karol walking up to the two of us. He gave a small wave in greeting to Celeste, then looked pointedly at me, "Can you help us get some stuff out of the Don's truck? He just showed up with boxes full of stuff and told me to come get you."

I got up in one smooth motion and Celeste stood up with me, "Oh, Yuri, I can help-"

I shook my head vehemently, "Absolutely not. Just say here. I'll be back."

The most adorable pout I had ever seen in my life crossed her features and I had to stop myself from taking her in my arms, "Yuri, I can help!"

"I know, I know." I replied, stepping into her personal space anyway. I placed my hands gingerly on her shoulders instead of holding her like I wanted to, "But someone needs to keep an eye on all these idiots in here."

Giggling, Celeste awarded me with a smile and nodded reassuringly, "I'll do my best!"

"Good." I nodded, giving her a pat on the head before I followed Karol out to the driveway.

"So, is she going to be here for awhile, Yuri?" Karol asked softly, just as we reached the front door.

"I hope so, Karol. I hope so."

**By the Pool, Estelle's POV**

Yuri wasn't gone for all of five minutes when one of his employees really did do something dumb. Two of the younger guys were trying to show off their awesome bartending skills to some of the ladies and soon enough, the bottle of liquor and the cup he had been pouring alcohol into fell to the floor.

The crash was followed by an "Awwwww crap!" and "Yuri's gonna kill me!"

I ran over immediately, worry etched across my features. I saw one of the guys, Sam, clutching his hand close to his body while Ashton grabbed paper towels.

"Ashton, Sam, are you guys okay?"

Ashton was the first to answer me, holding his hand out, "Celeste, be careful, there's-!"

**STAB.**

I bit my bottom lip as I looked down to find that in my rush to get to the boys, I had stepped in the shattered glass. Blood immediately seeped out of my foot, and I bit my lip harder. Of course there was glass on the floor! Why didn't I think to put on shoes?!

I tried to be calm and force the pain to the back of my mind. Sam needed to be examined first, "Sam, are you okay? How deep is the cut?"

Sam groaned, taking a handful of the paper towels and stepping further away from me, "OH GOD! Yuri's gonna kill me then hide the remains! Celeste, don't come any closer!"

I opened my mouth to tell Sam that I would be okay, but realized neither he, or Ashton, were looking at me anymore. Staring behind me, the color slowly drained from their faces.

"What exactly am I going to kill you for?"

I turned around myself to find Yuri setting a box down beside the bar and accessing the situation, glancing me over from head to…

"Celeste, are you insane?!" Yuri cried, when he finally saw my feet.

I winced at the sound of his voice. Why was he mad at me? I didn't break the glasses!

"Heyyyyyy Yuri," I drawled out sheepishly as he stepped towards me, grabbing my wrist none-too-gently. Without another word, he scooped me up in his arms, bridal style, carrying my barefooted, bloody self away from the bar.

"Somebody clean that mess up!" He bit out as we went, and the number of people that immediately mobilized at his gruff tone was nothing short of surprising.

**Yuri's POV**

I hadn't even been gone for 10 whole minutes! As I set Celeste down gently on the chaise in the living room, I tried my best to not be irritated. I had told everyone to be on their best behavior tonight, specifically because Celeste would be here and they couldn't manage to keep her safe the second I look away.

Just ridiculous.

I felt her emerald gaze on me as I stepped into the kitchen to grab the First Aid kit from the drawer. I didn't want to talk because I was annoyed but she kept giving me puppy dog eyes.

"Yuri… are you mad?" She questioned, as I propped her foot up on a pillow. Her delicate skin was marred by the shards of glass in her foot. Thank goodness, she had only hurt one foot and not both.

"Not at you," I said, and then frowned - that came out a lot harsher than I had intended.

"It was just an accident." Celeste replied, furrowing her brows as I gently cleansed the wounds with an alcohol wipe. She winced a bit, but didn't say anything.

"An accident that shouldn't have happened."

"Are Sam and Ashton going to get in trouble?"

At that, I chuckled. Celeste was perceptive. The crease in my brow lessened a little bit, "That depends, really. Do you want them to be in trouble?"

Solemnly, Celeste shook her head, then caught her bottom lip between her teeth. My pulse quickened at the sight, so I looked away from her lovely face to focus on the task at hand. "Yuri, it was an accident. They were just trying to impress their girlfriends. You know, like turkeys?"

The laugh that spilled out of me was totally out of my control, "What? Turkeys?"

Smiling faintly, Celeste keep her green eyes trained on my face, "You know, male turkeys puff their feathers out and all that for the attentions of the females."

Her innocent face looked completely serious and I laughed again, "So they were showing off and screwed it up. That sounds just like them."

I dropped the final piece of glass on the paper towel beside me, trying not to make a big deal out of the blood staining the jagged edges, "All the glass is out, I think. Are you okay?"

I watched as she nodded slowly, still worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

"...A little."

I smiled faintly, immediately catching on to her obvious lie. Placing the tweezers on the paper towel next to me, I stood up, making my way to stand beside her. Her emerald eyes reflected in mine, and I could see her holding back unshed tears.

"It won't take much longer, I promise." I smiled down at her and before I could stop myself, pressed a reassuring kiss onto her forehead. She was still staring at me in shock when I sat back down at the end of the chaise and starting cleaning her cuts again.

The bloom of red that was spreading across her face was nothing short of an adrenaline rush.

**Later, Estelle's POV**

Once Yuri had thoroughly cleaned and bandaged my foot, we made our way back to the pool to gather my things. Yuri insisted I go home and rest, so basically the party was over. We were gathering Patty's things when Don Whitehorse himself walked over.

"Yuri, I just got a call. We have to go."

Yuri rolled his eyes and turned to the Don, "What happened?"

"Well…" the Don's gaze flickered to my face, causing Yuri and Karol to both look at me as well.

Yuri let out a sigh, running his fingers through his raven hair. He took my hand, slowly pulling me to the side, away from the others. Yuri's long fingers tucked my hair behind my ear, and before he spoke, he gazed directly into my eyes, "Something big's going on at work, so I'm going to have to go. I'll ask Khroma to take you home."

"Do you-?"

Yuri shook his head, "No. The best way for you to help me is to go home and get off that foot."

I nodded, getting lost in his dark eyes, "You'll be careful, right?"

He lifted an eyebrow curiously, but didn't elaborate, "Definitely. See you tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Make sure you're here before Karol goes to school in the morning, Celeste." Yuri told me with a wide grin.

I nodded again, clutching my bag closer to my body nervously at the mention of my "job".

"And then what?"

Yuri's usual devilish smirk covered his features, and my heart pounded at just how handsome he was, "And then," and there it was again, that soft brush of his lips against my forehead as he invaded my personal space, "You'll get to spend the day with me."

I felt my cheeks burning as the others watched us carefully, "Ah, I'll go talk to Khroma now. Have fun at work, Yuri!" I squeaked, grabbing Patty's hand and practically running from the room.

I heard Yuri's cheerful chuckle as we made our way into the kitchen to find Khroma and Judith.

End Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

Black and White Lies

By: Sailorjj07

5. Chapter 5

A/n: Happy New Year everyone! Welcome to 2016! Normally, I plan all my fics out from start to finish before I even write them. For this story, I have a start and an end - so the middle will be as much of a surprise to you guys as it is to me, lol.

Thanks for sticking with me. Read and review~!

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

**Actions**

(Me!)

**Yuri's POV**

I felt the explosion of the heavily guarded front door before I heard it. From my perch at the top of the building, Don Whitehorse and a couple of his guys knocked over the hired security guards like they were mere flies. Raven was cracking up at something Don had said over the radio, while Rita yelled at them both.

It was just like any other heist.

I sat, high up above the chaos, scrolling through the images on my phone. Judith and Khroma had taken pictures of everyone at the party, but I was only looking for one person…

Her glossy pink hair appeared at the edge of one photo, and then I scrolled over to the next image to find her big green eyes staring back at me. I wanted to kiss whoever took the shot. Celeste was smiling prettily at the camera, her hands tucked behind her back. The sunlight hit her at just the perfect angle - she looked like a beautiful angel in her white swimsuit. I immediately saved the picture to my phone without a second thought.

"Yuuuurrri! Hellllllooooooo!"

Rita's voice snapped me into reality and I slid my phone back into the inner pocket inside of my bulletproof vest.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Thinking about your princess again? Yuri, you just saw her." Raven's aggravating chuckle in my ear made me want to punch him. I completely ignored him and kicked in the moonroof, making sure to avoid Don and the guys waiting down below. After securing a line from the roof into the main room, I slid down the rope and joined the rest of the group. Raven and Don stood in a room full to the brim with gold, jewels, cash, and many other valuable things. There were even drugs stored in the warehouse, but I refuse to let any of the team touch that stuff.

"Okay, you guys have fifteen minutes before backup arrives." Rita told me, from her vantage point around the corner. I heard her munching on something as she typed away, "Do we know if he's in there?"

"Knowing him, he probably is, but I don't have time to chit-chat with him today. Let's load this stuff up and get the hell out of here." I replied, grabbing a duffel bag and getting to work. We grabbed everything. Pearls, jewels, money - whatever we could trade or sell, we took.

"Helllloooooo beautiful." Raven crooned, picking up a particularly large ruby. Don laughed heartily as he got to work on his second duffel bag. I started searching through storage drawers and taking every box of jewelry I found in there. After a few moments of blindly stealing, I slowed down when I came across a small bag that looked important. Curious, I opened up the small bag and found a pair of diamond earrings that were shaped like flowers, with little pink sapphires in the center.

'_These would look fantastic on Celeste_," I thought, as her smiling face came to mind. To keep the earrings safe, I slid the tiny bag into my front pocket, then got back to work.

"Five minutes guys," Judith was standing at the end of the road, our actual eyes and ears while Rita manned the van full of computer equipment. Just as Judith spoke, I could hear sirens in the distance.

"SHIT! Guys, Cumore's fucking here!"

We all spun around as the owner of the warehouse appeared into view. The guys were high-tailing it out of there, leaving me, the Don, and Raven to handle the lavender haired man.

"Yuri, I tire of your constant thievery. Who keeps paying you to steal from me?"

Zipping up my second duffel bag and tossing it to Raven, I shrugged noncommittally, "Sorry, customer confidentiality clause. Telling you who hired me would be very bad for business. You really need to quit pissing people off, though. You'd see my handsome face a lot less that way."

"So what if I hire you to kill the people who keep sending you after me?"

"Well, for one, no. I don't bite the hand that feeds me. For two, fuck you. I'd never work for someone as awful as you."

Cumore's twisted smile gave me the feeling that my words had amused him, "Yuri, we're not so different, you and I."

"Here he goes," Raven groaned, scooping up all three bags. He nodded at the Don and the two of them took off running. Cumore didn't even try, he had no back up and he knew he could only get one of them. He was focused on me anyway.

"Cumore, you always say that. The difference is, I know when to quit. How many times have I robbed you blind? Four? Five? You keep spending more on security and I just keep taking it. If you stopped doing illegal things, this wouldn't happen so much."

"Yuri, I will give you everything in this warehouse if you come work for me. And more."

"Yeah, how about no." I grabbed the duffel bag and slung it over my shoulder. "Now, are you going to let me leave, or am I going to have to beat your ass like I did last time?"

"Oh, that won't happen again." Cumore bent his knees and slid into a fighting stance.

"Yuri, you don't have time to dance around with him, the cops just turned on the street." Judith told me, in an admonishing tone.

"Okay, okay." Taking a deep breath, I didn't even give Cumore time to blink. I took off at full speed and slammed my fist into his face, knocking him straight into the pillar behind him. His head smacked against the stone and he crumpled to the ground. I knew I hadn't killed him, but seeing him out cold was definitely satisfying. "Sorry, man. I don't have time to play with you today."

Turning back around, I headed over to the pile of drugs and smiled. This was my favorite part. The guys had poured gasoline all over the pills and plants that lined the walls - I just had to let it burn. I lit a match and instantly the trail of gas burst into flame. With that done, I drug Cumore's prone form out of the building behind me, sitting him up at the front gate. I disappeared into the alleyway across the street just as the police cars pulled up and cut off all exits.

"You cut it so close this time, Yuri." Rita said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Awwwww, were you worried about me?"

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone on the radio laughed with a mixture of relief and exhaustion. We had just robbed one of the biggest drug dealers in the city. Again.

**The Next Day, Estelle's POV**

I woke up the next morning feeling giddy and excited. Today, I was going to start paying off the debt I owed to Yuri. I had some trust in my cooking skills, even though I knew they weren't on par with a restaurant chef or anything.

I dressed comfortably but cutely, pairing a flowing skirt with a comfortable top and a light cardigan. If I got hot while cooking, I could just take it off. It was 6 am when I arrived at the house. Most of the lights were off in everyone's rooms, but since Yuri gave me the keycode to get in, I wouldn't have a problem.

I decide to make an American style breakfast for my first day there. It was hard to go wrong with eggs, bacon and toast. I tried to be as quiet as possible as I gathered the ingredients and got right away to cooking. The only person that came to see me before 6:30 was Repede. The dog stared at me silently, before hunkering down at the end of the kitchen island and falling back to sleep.

Both Karol and Rita came in at 6:30 in the morning. Rita looked dead on her feet, but Karol was grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Wow, you actually made it! Yuri said you would come."

At the sound of Yuri's name, my heart involuntarily fluttered in my chest. I ignored it as best I could and finished up the last pieces of bacon.

"Here guys, eat up so you can have energy for school!"

"Yaaaayyy," Rita muttered, chewing mechanically as she struggled to keep her eyes open. I giggled and poured her and Karol some orange juice. They were just about to finish eating when Yuri and Raven walked in.

Raven looked like he was about to collapse, but all he did was yawn loudly and fall into a chair. I set a plate in front of him and he dug in, suddenly getting energy quickly. He dug into his plate while Yuri came up to me, his violet eyes still foggy from sleep. I had to stop myself from holding my breath - sometimes he was just too handsome.

"You're on time for your first day. Good."

"Well, I didn't want my boss to fire me for being late."

We both smiled at that. I could tell Yuri was just as tired as Raven, but he tried to keep on a good face for me and probably Karol, who was getting up from the table.

"Rita and I are off to school now!" Karol said, taking both their empty plates and depositing them in the sink. He helped Rita out of her chair and took her hand, leading her out of the kitchen, "See you guys later!"

Raven yawned again, and got up from the table too, "Later." He said simply, heading back to his bedroom.

I nibbled on a piece of bacon while I started rinsing off the dishes, "Yuri, would you like to-"

He shook his head while shutting off the water, "Dry your hands and come with me."

I nodded, blinking curiously as I did as I was told, "Yuri, is everything okay?"

Instead of answering me, he took my hand and lead me out into the living room. We both sat down on the couch we had occupied the day before.

"To celebrate your first day, I got you something. I hope it's not too flashy." Yuri fished a small, velvet drawstring bag out of his pocket and handed it to me. I opened the bag, my eyes going wide at the beautiful earrings that fell into my hand.

"Oh Yuri, these are beautiful!" I said, excitedly. Then as I thought about it, "I can't take these, Yuri, it's-"

"Hey, you can't turn down a present from your boss, can you?"

"But this is… it's just too much! Are you sure you want me to have these?"

Yuri nodded, "Completely sure. I saw them and immediately thought of you,"

I felt my cheeks burning, "Yuri, thank you very much but I can't accept-"

"Okay fine, then you can pay for them too." Yuri stretched his arms above his head, eyeing my face, waiting for a reaction.

I learned my lesson from the last time though! He was trying to get a rise out of me again. Instead, I looked down at the beautiful earrings in my hands, "I-I can?"

"Yep! Be my pillow for a little bit, Celeste."

"Your pillow? Wha-?"

Yuri answered my question by stretching out on his back, and plopping his head in my lap. I fought to stop the shiver that ran up my spine, but I was sure he felt it anyway.

Sighing deeply, Yuri closed his eyes, snuggling his back into my leg, "Payment accepted."

I laughed, putting the earrings back in the bag and moving my hands out of his way, "I guess I'll keep them then. It's such a steal."

With his eyes closed, Yuri laughed, "Oh, you have no idea."

**Later**

I woke up from my nap slowly. I couldn't even remember falling asleep, but after looking at one of my cell phones, I realized that I had slept until noon. I stared at the time before jumping up anxiously from the couch.

'_Oh no! I can't believe I fell asleep on my first day! Yuri's going to be mad!'_

I made my way towards the kitchen, hoping that Yuri wouldn't be too angry with me, but no one was in there. Making my way towards the back of the house, I heard excited barking and saw Yuri playing catch with Repede in the backyard.

I approached them slowly, watching Yuri toss the ball into the swimming pool. Repede took one look at the ball and immediately turned back to glower at his owner. He gave him a look that clearly said he had no desire to get wet today.

Yuri's boisterous laughter made me smile. From where the two of them stood, I got a good look at Yuri's profile, taking in his sleek, dark hair, the warmth of his smile and the completely relaxed atmosphere around him. He certainly didn't look like a dangerous criminal.

Repede finally noticed me standing there and barked in my direction, causing Yuri to turn around. I cleared my throat and walked towards the two of them, hoping he hadn't caught me staring.

"Oh, good morning, Princess. I thought you'd never wake up."

I tilted my head at that, "Princess? Yuri, why are you calling me that?"

Yuri crossed his arms, grasping his chin in thought, "You just…" He looked me over slowly, motioning around me with his hands, "Give off this… air. You carry yourself that way. Everyone that met you at the party told me that they want to protect you. They all told me how you seem like such a respectable person."

I smiled at that. The members of Mira Vesperia seemed like such nice, caring people.

"And you, Yuri? What do you think about me?"

At my words, Yuri's smile turned into the most serious look I've ever seen him ever wear. He stepped into my personal space, taking hold of my hands and focusing all his attention on me. I watched him quietly, biting on my bottom lip from nervousness.

"Ask me again when you're ready to hear the answer, Celeste."

I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Yuri unnerved me without even trying. He released one of my hands and tugged me back towards the house, "Are you hungry? We should go get lunch."

"I thought I was supposed to be the chef for the house?"

"You're taking a lunch break, haha. Let's go have lunch somewhere in this crap town."

I let him lead me through the kitchen, laughing to myself, "This city isn't so bad."

Yuri chuckled, nodding in agreement, "It's been getting better and better every day."

I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but I couldn't help but agree. The entire city of Zaphias was sparkling as we headed out of the front door to Yuri's sleek SUV. He opened the door for me, and I thanked him softly, feeling at home in the comfortable leather seats.

"Any suggestions or requests?"

"Surprise me! Where does THE Yuri Lowell go for lunch on a Monday afternoon?"

Yuri rolled his eyes playfully, "I'm sure nowhere as fancy as you're thinking."

Smiling at him, I took his hand gingerly, "Show me Zaphias through your eyes, Yuri. I'm so curious to see it."

Yuri's gorgeous eyes glowed as he looked at our hands together, then back at me. The lopsided grin that covered his face made my heart stop. Instead of speaking, he reached across me with his free hand and buckled my seatbelt.

"Better hold on tight, Princess. Zaphias will never be the same for you again."

End Chapter 5


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